The Unofficial Xero Forum

 How to create a proforma in Xero is a recurring question. The short answer is, there is no way to do it directly.

The workaround is to make creative use of quotes and custom advanced invoice templates.

At the time of writing, you need to remember that you won't be able to email a proforma to your customer directly from Xero with this workaround unless you don't mind that the PDF filename will be 'Quote'. There is no way to change the filename within Xero. You might prefer to download the PDF and rename it before sending via regular email. 

Here is an example of how I have set up with a custom invoice style. 

(If you are not familiar with these, see the Xero page 'Create an advanced invoice template')

The uploaded 'Quote' template is a custom advanced invoice template file which includes the proforma information such as 'this is not a tax invoice' and, instead of the due date field, the proforma terms 'payment is due before despatch/collection' have been added as static text. You may choose to keep the due date field if you prefer and use the quote expiration date field as a due date.

The 'Quote' titles are changed to 'Proforma' in the 'Edit Branding Theme' screen.

To send a proforma, fill out the 'Quote' screen and make sure you have your proforma branding theme selected. Once you have added all the information to the proforma(quote) you can mark it as sent and accepted. When you receive the payment, the proforma(quote) can be converted to an invoice. 

In my example, the uploaded custom 'Invoice' template is also an amended version. The due date field has been removed and instead has static text reading 'Paid proforma' and the payment details removed. 

This does not stop you also using quotes as quotes! You can continue to do so using your standard branding theme. Proformas are created by using quotes creatively by using a different branding theme. 

Thanks for sharing this workaround—it’s a helpful approach for anyone using Xero. Using quotes and custom invoice templates is a smart way to simulate proforma invoices, even with the limitation on file naming. Downloading and renaming the PDF before sending is a practical solution. It would be great if Xero adds native proforma support in the future, but for now, this method seems reliable. Appreciate you outlining it clearly!

Thanks, gewii. It is a bit of a pain to do, but at least it works!